


Please, Mr Graves

by Clockwork



Series: Charms and Charmed [1]
Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluffy, MACUSA, No Grindelwald, Pre-Canon, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-13
Updated: 2017-01-13
Packaged: 2018-09-17 05:13:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9306803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clockwork/pseuds/Clockwork
Summary: Before Grindelwald took advantage of Percival Graves and polyjuiced the head of Magical Law Enforcement, Percival and Queenie became friends over business.





	

It wasn’t vanity that possessed Queenie when she knew that most of the men at MACUSA, and some of the gals even, had admired her a time or two. Maybe for her fashion, often for the gracious curves that God had granted her and not quite so much Teenie, and certainly from time to time for her features that gave her a resting coquettish look. Queenie knew she was beautiful, and she carried herself as such. It was the other side of her that not everyone knew that made her truly beautiful inside and out. 

Kindness and concern were as much a part of Queenie as the carefully and artfully designed curls that framed her face. She inquired about the Aurors families, knew about all of their children, and she kept their secrets and their worries close to her heart. So while others might notice the cuteness of her figure, she noticed the paleness of their skin, the sound of their cough, and the hang dog expression that might come after a long night of drinking Giggle Water or a longer night fighting with their Missus.

It wasn’t in Queenie to notice only the most pleasing face, or the wizard with a body that showed he kept no-maj traditions of exercise as much as using his wand. She noticed the beauty within, the strength, the power. Things that couldn’t be measured in terms of looks but rather in the person they were. 

Those were the reasons that she had noticed Percival Graves, though she had to admit that his fashion sense was a delight above so many others. Certainly many whispered about how handsome the head of Magical Law Enforcement was. Queenie wouldn’t deny that. She couldn’t. What she noticed though truly was not the line of his jaw, or the curve of his lips. No, what attracted Queenie to the Director of Magical Security was something so much more.

It was the strength that surrounded him like an aura, a brilliant field as pure white as the details of his jacket and as powerful as the nonverbal magic that he excelled at. Others might whisper and giggle about how handsome he was when he strode through the halls of MACUSA, but Queenie found herself caught giving a soft sigh in the wake of his gait as she felt that power and quiet strength wafting from him like a fine cologne.

Not that Queenie made a step forward when he passed. She had seen several of the girls make the attempt, only to see them flouncing away, slinking off, and not one of them would speak of what he had said to them. Rejection wasn’t what Queenie feared, but rather putting Graves into a position to be either kind or harsh in sending her on her way. It just wasn’t right to do that to either of them.

So when she was heading down the halls one night, heading for Teenie’s office, she was surprised when she saw a sudden flash of white and black to her left. Moreso when he spoke.

“Miss Goldstein, might I have a moment of your time?”

Now certainly she was not meant to be in the Aurors hall, but it wasn’t the first time she had been there, and no one had said a thing before. Turning slowly on one heel, chin up and pretending she didn’t have a clue why he might be addressing her, she nodded, giving him her best smile.

“Of course, Director. My time is yours,” she said in her sweetest voice, hoping that he couldn’t hear the nerves that left her chest tight and her hands shaking. 

That was apparently the right answer as he stepped to one side, gesturing with a hand. “After you,” he said, the timbre of his voice soft and rumbling. 

Stepping into the office, Queenie didn’t waste time in looking around. Taking in the arrangement, the books on the shelves, even the rich red tones of the woods used and the warmth of the room that seemed almost a counterpoint to the hard lines and cold, powerful demeanor of the man who inhabited it. She may never have another chance to cross that threshold and she was eager to use that to her advantage. 

“Before you begin, Director, I just want to say that I promise I was just going straight to Tina’s office. No where else. I just wanted to see if she was done for the day and we could walk home together.”

“To begin,” Percival said, almost as if she hadn’t spoken. “Please, Mr Graves at the least, Miss Goldstein. Two, have a seat. If you would,” he said, formal but not seemingly angry. Definitely a man with an agenda though. “Might I get you something to drink?”

Smiling, nodding at his requests as she moved to settle herself into one of the chairs facing his desk. Right until that question. 

Queenie paused then, hovering over the seat before slowly lowering herself to settle onto the surprisingly plush seat. She would have thought he wasn’t much of one for company and so might have done things to discourage them staying, but he was surprising her at every turn. 

Obviously catching her hesitancy, he gave a nod and a gesture to the side table where a silver teapot rested, a waft of heat lifting from the spout.

“The tea is already made, if you’d like?”

Even as he asked, Queenie nodded and moved to rise back to her feet. 

“Of course, Di… Mr Graves, and thank you. How would you like yours?” She asked, instantly assuming that he was asking her to retrieve the drink for them.

A quick movement of black and suddenly Percival was standing in her path, a solid form of black and white between her and the teapot. Queenie startled, stumbling back a step as her bright eyes went wide. For a moment her skin paled, a bit ashen compared to her usually high, golden color.

“I’m sorry, Miss Goldstein, but you’ve misunderstood. I was offering to get a cup for you.”

It took a moment for the words to process, for Queenie to realize that Percival Graves, the head of Magical Law Enforcement was offering to get her a cup of tea. One hand slowly lifted, coming to rest the tips of her fingers against the center of her chest, head canting just slightly as the paleness gave way to a hint of a flush that colored her cheeks. 

“You were… I… Oh.” For once finding herself at a bit of need for words, Queenie recovered her smile a moment before her demeanor. “I think that would be just delightful, Mr Graves,” she said, backing up a step, then a second before sinking back down to sit upon the chair she had been occupying. 

“My pleasure, Miss Goldstein,” he murmured, and it was then that she caught the gleam in his eyes, the slight curve of the corner of his mouth. 

It was the closest she had seen him come to a smile in the time they’d both been with MACUSA, and it left her heart racing and her mouth dry. Circumspectly wiping her palms on her thighs, along the fabric of her skirt, suddenly wishing she had worn her favorite new pink dress that day. Yet how could she have known that she might have worn something cuter and more delicate? How could she have known that this moment might happen, that he might have smiled at her?

She watched him as he got two china cups, pouring the tea carefully, looking back at her over his shoulder. “Cream or sugar? Lemon?”

“Oh? Well, I’ll trust your judgment,” she said, not one to drink tea. Coffee was a thing for Queenie, loaded with sugar and pale with cream. She wasn’t sure that tea would be good mixed the same way.

It wasn’t right, and probably not fair, but Queenie strained in her seat, head canting this way and that. At first she’d thought it was the shock of being summoned to his office as it were, but now, while Percival was distracted and she was focusing as she might, she knew the truth.

He was blocking her Legilimency. Not that she was surprised. It was hard to be the head of Magical Law Enforcement when anyone with the skill could cross your path and know all of the defense of the MACUSA. That didn’t stop it from being a little disconcerting. Some were muddled in their thoughts. Others confused. Graves was a sort of missing space, the more she focused on him, the more he seemed to vanish as it were in the space of her mind. 

“Your tea?”

Queenie startled in her seat, head snapping up and staring up at Percival. So concentrated in her focus, she hadn’t noticed the movement of the physical form while trying to pick out a thread of the mental one.

“I apologize but the charms are rather strong in protecting myself and others close to the President,” he noted, holding the saucer and cup out to her. Not like it would take a genius to realize why she’d been distracted. “You’ve never tried before?”

The last was asked with a bit of humor in his tones and again that slightly smile that was recognizable as such only because it was so rare. 

“Never had a reason to before,” she admitted, taking the saucer by the edge. Something akin to pride went through her that her hand was steady enough not to clatter cup to plate. “I’m guessin’ in a minute I won’t have a reason now either,” she added, a bit more spitfire to her tone. 

Being caught purposefully trying to read him had brought out the defensive nature to someone who found herself often reassuring others that their thoughts were perfectly fine and her actions accidental. 

“I suspect if I had your skill, Miss Goldstein, there would be little I wouldn’t try to learn, and few I wouldn’t at least have a peek in on. That you don’t… it’s refreshing,” he said, moving around the desk to sit opposite her. “Though you’re correct in that the reason is presenting itself promptly. I am to understand that you work the reception desk in the Wand Permit office, is that correct.”

“Yes, that’s correct, though that’s not entirely all I do.”

“So I’ve been told,” he assured her, taking a moment to blow slowly across the service of his tea. “I’m told your skill with unjinxing things is most helpful, especially as Aurors find pranking one another to be a secondary pastime to their work.”

Queenie laughed at that, nose wrinkling as she nodded hard enough her curls bobbed. “You can say that again, Mr Graves. They’re good too, but I like finding ways to undo the hexes without asking others.” 

Being a secretary and being able to uncross the hexes of Aurors meant something to her, and knowing that others, especially Percival, recognized that meant something. Enough so that she straightened in her seat, taking a page from his book to pause and take a sip from her tea.

“You didn’t call me in here though to talk about me fixing the John though, did you?”

It was brash, bold and forward, but she knew he had better, more important things, on his mind. 

“No, in that you are right. I most certainly didn’t call you in for that. I pick up a lot here. It’s part of my job, as you can imagine. Some talk that one day you might leave MACUSA if you were to find employment, if they’re correcting, in designing clothing?”

That startled Queenie, blinking at that and then looking down to her tea and back up at him. Her mind had been racing to try and determine what was going on. So many things had come to mind, but that was not even in the top ten. Not the top twenty even. 

“Well, Mr Graves, I don’t have no plans to leave MACUSA. I like my job well enough and Tee… Tina’s here as well,” she said, toying with the handle of the cup. “Fashion design though, it’s something I do love. I work on it all the time. I have books filled with designs, and when we have the money I pick up bits of this and that and put things together. Mostly for myself right now, but one day, one day I hope to be designing things for senators, and congressmen and even the President,’ she said, again her passion bringing out the boldness in her words. 

“That’s what I was hoping to hear, Miss Goldstein. My current wardrobe was tailored for me by a wizard who has passed in the last year. I was hoping that you might consider doing some designs for me. I can find tailors, but they have no… what’s the word? Pizazz?” He asked it with a nod towards her, gaze flicking over the dress she wore. “My style is not the average man on the street and I need someone with more flair.”

There was one thing that Percival Graves was good at and that was leaving Queenie speechless. She would give him credit for that. 

“But sir…”

“I’ve already spoken with your supervisor, and no one considers it a conflict of interest. If you would rather not, then no worries and we’ll certainly see one another around the building. Truly, Miss Goldstein, the choice is yours.”

_The choice was hers._

Those last words were almost like glitter sparkling along the thoughts that were swirling in her mind. Working for the Head of Magical Law Enforcement, a man revered and respected within the halls of MACUSA. Working for and alongside Percival Graves, a man of power and strength, who had looked into her work and respected it and her enough to have this meeting. He’d brought _her_ tea. No one brought Queenie beverages. 

“When should we get started, Mr Graves?”

“That’s my girl,” he said, setting down his cup and moving aside the papers on his desk to give them room. “How about now?”

Tina was going to have to wait. Not just because it was her dream and someone was actually paying her to design for them but it happened. In that moment, looking up at her, Percival Graves smiled. Wide and genuine and real, and not hexes or curses were going to drag her out of that office in that moment.


End file.
